MANHATTAN, NY—Lead guitarist Jamey Ice and his bassist brother Geoff Ice had music-loving parents who encouraged them to play the blues and classic rock at an early age. Jamey was a 15-year-old in high school in Fort Worth, Texas, and Geoff was 13 years old in middle school when they formed the country-rocking Green River Ordinance, and their parents chaperoned them to their college and bar gigs. After a few personnel changes, the band was filled out with Josh Jenkins on vocals and guitar, Joshua Wilkerson on guitar and keyboards and Denton Hunker on drums. The name referred to Green River Ordinances, laws which prohibit door-to-door sales unless the house’s owner grants permission to do so.
Green River Ordinance recorded a debut album in the basement of their church, a CD that sold out in just a few months. The band’s initial releases, a 2005 full-length and a 2007 EP, were both released on a small independent label. The band’s second album, 2009’s Out Of Our Hands, launched two singles, “Come On” and “On Your Own,” into the Top 40. The band’s most recent album, 2012’s fan-funded Under Fire, had regional success with the singles “Dancing Shoes” and “Heart Of Me.” GRO were featured on every episode of MTV’s 2010 reality series If You Really Knew Me and also had their video “On Your Own” featured after shows during credits on MTV. The band’s music has been featured in 56 network and cable television shows and three films.
Green River Ordinance headlined The Studio At Webster Hall on May 26 and walked the lines between country, rock, pop, and folk. Country was the heaviest ingredient, however, the kind that makes one’s heart sing and one’s hips swing. Each song was crafted with pop melodies featuring slick multi-part harmonies, backed with clever rocking instrumental arrangements. The performance alternated in tempo and timbre from hushed and intimate acoustic-driven pop to rousing rock, all driven by driving guitar, mandolin or banjo and sweetly soaring harmonies. The set consisted of songs from the catalogue and introduced two new songs, “Hold Me” and “Red Fire,” but also included a cover of John Mellencamp’s “Jack And Diane” and adding to original song “Fool For You” a long and rousing “na na na na-na-na-naaa” from the Beatles’ “Hey Jude.” Called back for an encore, the band went unplugged into the audience to sing “Come On.” The dynamic set was polished, professional and near-perfect for those enjoying the rocking Americana that is now so popular. So why isn’t Green River Ordinance a huge band yet?
Visit Green River Ordinance at greenriverordinance.com.
